Standard Handheld VHF Battery Replacement

[speedoo]

I have a Standard handheld that's about 15 years old, model # is HX250, with a dead NiCad battery. I don't see anything on the Standard site about repalcement batteries, but the battery is unique to the radio because the exterior case and battery are molded together.

Anyone ever repace one of these? Know of anyone who sells them, other than Horizon?

Thanks.

[mario f]

Speedo,

Try this link, they have what you need.

http://www.standardhorizon.com/

good luck

[Radio University]

Here are a couple of places I found online. I have not worked with any of these so i do not know how good their service is.

http://www.northeastmarineelectronic...Y-F-HX250.html

http://www.monstermarketplace.com/Sp...ing497a68.html

https://www.sevenseaselectronics.com....htm#VSSHM_Acc

It seems that Standard Horizon is selling them for $100 while the above sites are selling them from $84 to $87.

The part number is CNB250A.

Good Luck

[speedoo]

$84 or more, plus shipping is way more than I was hoping to pay for a replacement battery.

Anyway, thanks for the info, guys.

I'll probably just buy a new radio for now and continue looking for a cheaper way to replace the battery.

[hellosailor]

Speedo-
I have the SH HX230 and I think the packs are the same or similar. Yeah, the replacement pack from SH is expensive. Problem is, it is a well made pack and they've been keeping parts for it on a shelf for over ten years--you're paying rent.
If you look on the web there are places that will rebuild battery packs. I would have used one of those places but needed it turned around inside a week, so I did it myself. gotta warn you--that's not a job for the faint of heart, the construction is EXTREMELY tight in there and if you short out the new battery pack, it can and will start a fire. (Don't ask me why I know this to be true.)

The good news is, if someplace rebuilds it for you they can use Panasonic AA cells with a capacity 3x-4x higher than the factory packs. Still gonna cost you well north of $50. I say Panasonic because mine will hold a charge all winter long and still work well in the sprng, but the Chinese NiMh cells (originals were NiCd, you can use either to replace them) will lose their charge in 2-4 weeks, they're a waste of money.

In theory NiMh and NiCd require different charging and treatment. In practice, if you use the original charger (which was an overnight charger) it will take over 24 hours to charge up new high capacity cells. 3x longer to charge, yes, but 3x longer run time, this is not a bad thing! And because the charging time is so long, the charge is so gentle, you can ignore the NiMh/NiCd differences.

When I called SH the man actually apologized about the price and the capacity (600mA was good 20 years ago, it's poor now) and he sent me the DC lighter cord for it for free. Hey, that was something he didn't have to do, I was impressed.

Still a great radio...but $100 for a battery pack...well...great radios aren't gonna cost that little today but some of the new radios do have a lot more features in a smaller package. And I suspect the new ones can't be used as sledgehammers--like these old ones.<G> SH made "commercial" grade equipment back then, not consumer grade. The difference tells.

[speedoo]

hellosailor..

Thanks for that info. Very interesting. I really like the Panasonic AA rebuild idea. Looks like 6 of those can be squeezed into my old SH pack... is that what you did? But that's not something I'd want to try on my own so I would welcome suggestions as to how to find someone to do it for me, at a fair price. Time is not a problem, so I could ship it anywhere in the US for the work.

And what are the Panasonic cells... NiMh, NiCd or something else? And I think you are saying I can use the AC charger I have... it will just take longer to charge, correct?

Yes, it's a great radio so I am glad to know there's a way to get it back, even better. Did you speak to a customer service type at SH, to get the DC lighter cord?

[hellosailor]

Speedo-
"Looks like 6 of those can be squeezed into my old SH pack... is that what you did?" Pretty much. I think mine needed 8 or 10 of them, and the fit was extremely snug--extremely. I needed to clean out hot wax that had been used in the original assembly and use teflon tape to "lubricate" the reassembly.
"And what are the Panasonic cells... NiMh, NiCd" Both are available, the NiMh tend to be available in much higher capacities. Sanyo make good cells, too. Its just the "anonymous chinese" ones I won't deal with, the self-discharge rates and failure rates are just too high.
"I can use the AC charger I have... it will just take longer to charge, correct?" Yup. With slow chargers, you can get away with this. With the one-hour (etc) fast chargers, things get more critical. Assuming the old cells are the standard commercial 600mA rated AA cells, just pick new cells (i.e. 2x, 3x, more power) and multiply the charging time by the same factor. If the old ones needed a typical 10-14 hour charge, the new ones could take 20-28 hours, or 30-42 hours. But the charging rate is SO gentle for the new cells, that you can just plug it in and ignore it for days without worrying about any chance of an overcharge.<G>

"Did you speak to a customer service type at SH, to get the DC lighter cord?" Yes. I didn't ask for it, we were discussing old radios and the unfortunate battery prices and he offered to send me one because they had (at that point) many left in stock and "at least you can use it off the ship's 12v supply this way". It shouldn't be an expensive adapter, even if they sell it to you. $10 for cell phones, what can they ask for a "marine grade"? <G>

[speedoo]

hellosailor... thanks.

Any ideas as to who, or what kind of tech-type might be able to do the rebuild?

Thanks.

[hellosailor]

One called "the NiCad Lady" comes recommended but I don't know them personally. A web search for "rebuild battery pack" or "rebuild NiCad" etc. should turn up some of them. You may also find some in your yellow pages, there are some chains that sell and rebuild battery packs as well.

[Catamount]

FWIW, my now-obsolete Standard Horizon HX350S handheld VHF radio came with an adapter pack for AA batteries as well as the rechargeable battery pack -- maybe they have one for the HX250 (or maybe the same one will fit)?

[speedoo]

hallosailor, Nicad lady looks like the way to go. I will give them a call and post what happens later. Thanks again.

Thanks, catamount, I will see if SH offers that.

[speedoo]

Just to update this, I got my rebuilt battery pack back from NiCad lady. Cost me $50 plus shipping, and they are great folks, very helpful. I fully expect their rebuilt pack to serve me very well.

NiCad Lady - Radio Battery - Rebuilt Radio Batteries - Laptop Batteries - Cellphone Batteries - Camcorder Batteries - Flashlight Batteries

They are also an excellent source for replacement batteries for all kinds of gadgets.... cordless phones, etc.

[sloopoboat]

How do you open the battery pack?

[speedoo]

Originally Posted by sloopoboat

How do you open the battery pack?

NiCad Lady rebuilt mine so they opened it, not me. I think hellosailor might be able to answer your question.

[Healer52]

Since Standard Horizon, Yaesu and Vertex are all the same company, you might be able to find a Yaesu ham battery pack that is the same configuration - different color though. Try Ebay as well.